Download ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE TOURISM

ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE TOURISM SECTOR
IN SPAIN
By
Ana Gargallo-Castel
Department of Business Administration
University of Zaragoza, C/ Ciudad Escolar, s/n
44003 TERUEL, SPAIN
Phone: 00 34 978 61 81 01. Fax 00 34 978 61 81 03
Email: [email protected]
Luisa Esteban-Salvador
Department of Finance and Accounting
University of Zaragoza, C/ Ciudad Escolar, s/n
44003 TERUEL, SPAIN
Phone: 00 34 978 61 81 01. Fax 00 34 978 61 81 03
Email: [email protected]
Raquel Lacuesta Gilaberte
Departament of de Engineering and Computer Sciencies
University of Zaragoza, C/ Ciudad Escolar, s/n
44003 TERUEL, SPAIN
Phone: 00 34 978 61 81 01. Fax 00 34 9 78 61 81 03
Email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Climate change is already happening and causing profound changes in many natural
systems. Moreover, it also presents, in a greater or lesser extent, economical effects in
nearly every sector of activity. In this context, the tourism will be particularly affected
[1; 2]. There will be regional and seasonal shifts in global tourist flows, leaving some
countries more vulnerable to shifting climatic conditions [3]. European Mediterranean
countries, such as Spain, will be most negatively affected within the EU [4]. The much
higher temperatures that would have during summer would make Spain an unpleasant
destination for many tourists [5]. Moreover, the snow-based tourism will be affected
because of the unavailability of natural snow [2].
The tourism industry represents more than 10% of the Spanish GDP and more than 13%
of the employment in 2008 [6]. Additionally, it also presents synergies with important
key sectors such as transport, building, accommodation or leisure.
Although the economical costs of climate change in tourism remain difficult to quantify,
most studies indicate that increasing temperature would have largely negative
consequences in Spain. There will be a loss of beaches, wetlands, water resources and a
sea level increase that will affect existing facilities. It will affect the most important
touristic destinations of the country [7]. South-eastern Spain hosts some of the most
popular destinations for tourists from the UK and other European countries. According
to the IPCC [8], Spain could lose 40% of its German tourists and up to 100% of its
British tourists. Hein [5] estimates that climate change would lead to a reduction of 20%
of total annual tourist flow to Spain between 2004 and 2080; Hein, Metzger and Moreno
[9] obtain an average decrease up to 14% in 2060 compared to 2004 - result of higher
losses in summer and slight increases in the remainder of the year-.
Nevertheless, some studies offer a more positive outlook. According to the Fundación
Empresa y Clima [7], the tourist seasons will be lengthened and the North littoral could
receive new flows of tourists, so it will be able to take advantage of new opportunities
of business.
REFERENCES
[1] Commission of the European Communities (2007): Communication from the
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Ahead
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13
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[2] WTO, World Tourism Organization (2008): “Climate Change and Tourism Responding to Global Challenges”, UNWTO, 9 July 2008, Madrid, Spain.
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2010.
[4] Ehmer, P. and Heymann, E. (2008): “Climate change and tourism: Where will the
journey lead?” Deutsch Bank Research, April 11, 2008. Available in:
http://www.dbresearch.de/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_DEPROD/PROD0000000000222943.pdf . 8 April 2009.
[5] Hein, L. (2007): “The impact of climate change on tourism in Spain”. Centre for
International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo. CICERO Working
Paper 2007:2.
[6] INE, Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (2009): “Spanish Tourism Satellite Account.
Series 2000-2008”. Avalable at http://www.ine.es/en/prensa/np583_en.pdf, July
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[7] Fundación Empresa y Clima (2009): “Afectaciones del Cambio Climático sobre el
Sector Turístico Español”, http://www.empresaclima.org 30 May 2009.
[8] IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), 2007. IPCC Fourth
Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007. United Nations Environment
Programme.
[9] Hein, L.; Metzger, M.J. y Moreno, A. (2009): “Potential impacts of climate change
on tourism; a case study for Spain”, Current Opinion in Environmental
Sustainability 2009, 1:170–178